Posted on 04/02/2010 5:45:17 AM PDT by South40
A report by Attorney General Jerry Brown released Thursday concluded the now defunct community organizing group ACORN did not break any criminal law in incidents captured on now infamous videotapes, but faulted the group for “highly inappropriate behavior.”
The 20-page report capped a months-long probe into the grass roots organization, which formally dissolved Thursday largely under the withering heat brought after the broadcast of the secretly recorded videos at ACORN offices, including one in National City.
The videos purportedly showed employees advising a couple posing as a pimp and prostitute how to cross the border illegally. Brown’s office said those tapes were “severely edited” and the unedited tapes depict a fuller story.
While concluding no crimes were committed, the report said the group could face civil lawsuits stemming from improperly disposing of 20,000 pages of documents that contained personal information on employees and clients. It would be up to individuals to bring the suits.
ACORN also never filed a tax return for 2007 and that matter has been referred to the Franchise Tax Board.
The probe also said the Secretary of State found four instances of suspected voter registration fraud in the 2008 election connected to ACORN. The report said those allegations were referred to San Diego District Attorney’s office, which declined to prosecute,. The report said there was no evidence that any fraudulent votes had been cast.
The report from Brown, who is running for governor as a Democrat, was released on the day that ACORN dissolved as a national organization. The California ACORN chapter broke away from the national group and many of its members and organizers reformed under a new group, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment.
Amy Schur, the group’s executive director and former statewide organizer of ACORN, said the organization all along insisted it had done nothing wrong.
“We’re not surprised that they did in fact reach the conclusion there was no criminal activity by any ACORN staff,” she said.
The controversy erupted in the fall when James O’Keefe, a filmmaker and conservative activist, and Hannah Giles released videos showing their visits to ACORN offices, including three in California.
They posed as a prostitute and her pimp and spoke to employees about getting housing loans through the group in order to set up a prostitution ring. One tape snippet from National City showed an employee, Juan Carlos Vera, answering some of their questions and asking how much her services cost.
O’Keefe could not be reached for comment Thursday.
The Attorney General’s Office got the full, unedited tapes of the visits to National City and other offices in Los Angeles and San Bernardino from O’Keefe. It is illegal in California to record a conversation without the consent of all parties. In order to get the tapes prosecutors granted O’Keefe and Giles immunity from being charged under that law.
After viewing all the tapes, the Attorney General’s Office concluded no employees “committed, solicited or conspired to commit” any criminal offense.
By contrast, the report sharply noted the circumstances of the tapings “strongly suggest O’Keefe and Giles violated state privacy laws.”
In January, O’Keefe was arrested along with three others and charged with trying to tamper with the phones in the offices of U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu in New Orleans. The charges were later reduced to a misdemeanor of entering a federal building under false pretenses.
Moonbeam is another statist con-man who loves any collective that contributes to the ‘rat base.
Of course a dem could find nothing illegal here except those tea party nutjobs who videotaped the acorn employees. When will some lawmaker have the stones to put an end to this corruption? Acorn is back to their fraudulent acts, just under a new name. Why are the liberals making the laws and calling the shots? Never mind, I know the answer to that.
Surprised he did not give them diplomatic immunity.
We knew this was coming.
...since Brown won’t clean this mess up voters will have to...throw him and any other pro-ACORN politician out of office in November.
He's running for governor...again.
The videos purportedly showed employees advising a couple posing as a pimp and prostitute how to cross the border illegally. Brown’s office said those tapes were “severely edited” and the unedited tapes depict a fuller story.
It exonerates them? How?
While concluding no crimes were committed, the report said the group could face civil lawsuits stemming from improperly disposing of 20,000 pages of documents that contained personal information on employees and clients. It would be up to individuals to bring the suits.
I'm sure the ACLU will step up to the plate on this matter!
Of course we did. Brown's a committed socialist cut from the same cloth as these cretins.
He only investigates how to let Communist agents off the hook.
“He’s running for governor...again.”
Unbelievable!!
no, wait a minute....of course he is...that’s what he does...he runs for office, and if he loses, he runs for another one.
Criminal is such a tawdry term.
Liberalism has all but destroyed this state. If this joker is elected governor the people of CA will get what they deserve.
Moonbeam is one of them.
....to me the Browns epitomize DEM leadership that’s run Cali down down down...his father Pat Brown led the way...I’m old enough to remember when California was the envy of the nation...now it’s a cautionary tale of Lib destruction.
“the Attorney General’s Office concluded no employees “committed, solicited or conspired to commit” any criminal offense.”
Of course not... not unless his own people had set up the sting... got his ass embarrassed and now he’s just paying back in kind. Criminals are as Criminals do.
Moonbeam must have saw different video than I saw—
Democrats NEVER punish their own....NEVER!!! Republicans are TWICE as hard on THIER OWN!
“Unexpectedly”, I’m sure.
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